Reading together is such a joyful activity'

When I was little there weren't many picture books, though I vividly remember a French one belonging to my grandmother - full of cautionary tales about animals punished for their misdeeds.

- Julia Donaldson

The horrible picture of a goose whose neck was stretched and tied in a knot will never leave me.

So I was amazed, as a new mother, to discover the huge variety of colourful stories in bookshops and libraries. I'd never realised you could share books so early - that a boisterous toddler would sit still on your lap, engrossed in the sights and sounds.

There were books with rhymes, holes and flaps, stories about ordinary children and fantastic animals. One celebrated noises, with violins going ee-ow and bees going bbzz; another hid a green parrot on every page.